Coffee, fresh bread – breakfast starts your day

Ah, breakfast! Is there any better reason to get up in the morning?

If your breakfast means a muffin on the go, you’ll love the surprises that Kristen creates in her kitchen. In a clean white apron, Kristen is up early to put the coffee on.

From what she calls her “simple country kitchen” (that part of the house dates back to the 1880s), she’s whisking and stirring, singing sweetly to herself as she pauses to look upon the rose bush blooming outside the kitchen windows. Breakfast starts in your room, with a cup of organic shade-grown, fair-trade Costa Rican coffee from servers on the first and second floors.

Kristen selected the medium roast herself after conducting an extensive search in the Asheville area for the right balance of lightness and earthiness. With a cup (or two) of that in your hand, there’s no hurry to get to the dining room, and that’s fine with the innkeepers. Kristen in the kitchen and Howard, your server, are ready when you are. If you’re lucky, Howard may be wearing his kilt (he wears the tartan of Clan Buchanan, with whom his ancestors affiliated themselves centuries ago). Ask him about his playing the bagpipes at his son’s wedding.

Click on the images below to see what is in store for you at the Dry Ridge Inn!

Chamber music plays softly as you find a table in the sunny dining room. Or choose one on the patio, where birds dart in and out of the feeders that stand over a waterfall and pond full of iridescent koi. Breezes stir up an appetite for what’s wafting through the air– fresh flowers on the table and the aromas of what Kristen is cooking up in the kitchen. But first comes juice and fruit, delightfully tart and sweet “eye openers” to wake up sleepy taste buds.

No matter whether you started your morning with a few extra winks or a pre-breakfast jog around town, seasonal options such as baked Henderson County apples, blueberries with cream or melon with mint will brighten your eyes for the dish Howard is about to set before you.

In fact, many of her recipes are included in the Asheville Bed and Breakfast Association cookbook that came out in 2010. Savory dishes are often accompanied by croissants and pats of butter. Sweet dishes may be served with a bowl of Kristen’s homemade, lightly sweetened preserves.

Delicate breakfast breads - orange and cranberry, banana nut and pumpkin or zucchini - are made by Kristen’s mother, an expert cookie baker who lives nearby. Good food always leads to good conversation, especially with fellow guests who you’ve met during your stay. Guests often choose to breakfast together. But even if you’d prefer a table of your own, you’ll likely find yourself swapping suggestions of where to dine in Weaverville and Asheville, as well as stories about your family and hometown.

Kristen has many recipes that fit any dietary need. We have Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free breakfasts. Just alert us to your needs and we can accomodate!

Howard is amazed at how often guests discover that they grew up just blocks away from each other. Friendly and informal, breakfast is a reminder of why you’ll love staying at the Dry Ridge Inn - interesting people enjoying good food over warm conversation.